Postgame Quotes - November 18, 2012

Pistons vs Celtics

(On defensive effort): "It all stems from that (defense). That's what it's going to take for us. It's not about getting the ball or getting your touches, it's about getting stops. The two games that we've won we've seen a defensive commitment and that's what it has to be about. We all have to do our part, starting with me, to make sure that we're all accountable defensively."

(On Celtics' fourth game in five days): "A part of it is definitely scheduling, we understand that and knew that going in. Yet, having been on that side of the bench four or five nights, these guys are ultra competitive, but I thought our guys really rose to the challenge and I thought we really had good play from everyone who touched the floor."

(On Jason Maxiell): "I thought Max was unbelievable. He really was good, and even though he started getting a little fatigued in that third (quarter), he just kept on going. I thought Max brought phenomenal energy. There were so many individuals who impacted the game that I hate to just single out Max, but he was so noticeable. He was tremendous."

(On Jason Maxiell late offensive rebounds): “Max has been great on the offensive boards all season. Plays like that are what sparks a team and I think from that point on we kind of controlled the game.”

(On learning anything from previous home losses): “I think it opened our eyes. Those are games we should have won and we could’ve controlled that. I wouldn’t say it’s a good thing, but it was an eye-opener.”

(On what this win will lead to): “Time will tell. We have to be consistent. We have to play with the same effort and energy on Wednesday and the game after that and the game after that. It’s a good win, a good win at home; we just have to play like this every game.”

(On the disappointing loss against the Magic): “That game against Orlando was tough, but we learned that we need to hold our own court, which is what we did tonight.”

(On the team’s record not being indicative of what the team is): “Our record is horrible right now, but we have to come out with the mindset that no matter what the record is, we have to play our game.”

(On game): “Dead men walking. That is what it felt like. Give Detroit credit, I thought they played extremely hard. I could see it early. I told our coaches that I will start subbing guys in and out. We just had no legs.”

(On loss): “I thought some guys fought through it. You can learn mental toughness and all that but we won’t have another stretch like this the entire season. That is the toughest stretch with seven games in 10 days. We won’t do that again this entire season. When I saw that schedule and I saw that last game I thought this was going to be a hard game for us to win.”

(On continuing to play Rondo in the fourth quarter): “Why not? You guys keep talking about it, so I figured I would give him a shot at it. It’s funny, the harder we tried the worst we got at that.”

(On game): “I thought we came out playing good and Detroit went up to another level. I don’t know how many games Detroit came off of but it was a tough stretch for us. We had seven games in 10 nights. The game before every shot was going in for us and today we couldn’t make a shot. We had a couple good looks.”

(On Rondo): “He didn’t get 10 assists until late in the game. Jared (Sullinger) helped him out big time. That is how it goes, some nights you are on and some nights you are off.”